Oh man, this is so true! I've noticed a lot of skills are like that. You learn the basic steps in a class or a video and it just feels pointless and clunky. Then you're forced to use it for something you actually care about, and suddenly your brain puts it all together. It's like the real world pressure and the personal project makes it stick. Happened to me with learning how to properly use a spreadsheet. Felt like boring number boxes until I needed it to plan a big group trip.

Just wait until you find the avocado green appliances to complete the vibe.

Plaster walls are the worst, they just eat drill bits. I had a similar place, a Victorian with those old horsehair plaster ceilings that crumble if you look at them wrong. We ended up using almost all wireless sensors, except for the main panel power. The funny part was the homeowner freaked out about batteries, like we were going to hide a hundred little time bombs in his walls. Had to explain the low-battery beep for a solid twenty minutes.